Om-gnosis: The Occult South Asia Podcast

Today, what we call occult often has deep ties to South Asian teachings and practices, including, but not limited to modern yoga, Hindu and Buddhist tantra, and even Islamic esotericism. Occult South Asia is full of intercultural transfers, and many authors and practitioners from around the world played a role in formulating this category.

Dr. Muhammad Faruque sits down with Dr. Keith Edward Cantú for an interview on how Sufi discourses can inform our understanding of self and the body. Dr. Faruque provides an introductory overview of the spread of Sufism in South Asia, including many of the more important names and sites. This leads to a wide-ranging conversation that includes discussion of the idea of gnosis in Sufism, the experiential importance of the Arabic word dhawq or "tasting" as similar to rasa in Sanskrit, the notion of selfhood and the pronoun “I” in Sufism, Sufi interactions with practitioners of yoga, and the yogic connection between the subtle centers called laṭā'if and the vital breath (Sanskrit prāṇa).

Dr. Muhammad Faruque continues his interview with Dr. Keith Edward Cantú on how Sufi discourses can inform our understanding of self and the body. Dr. Faruque answers questions about diagrams in Sufi texts and resemblance with diagrams in Kabbalah, the interplay of fanā' or “annihilation” and baqā' or “subsistence” in Sufism, the connection between Sufism and occultism and unseen phenomena more generally, Sufi conceptions of selfhood as compared to that of philosophical theorists, and a song by Lalon Sai that references Mansur al-Hallaj in connection with the pronoun “I.”

Professor Manon Hedenborg White of Malmö University joins host Keith Edward Cantú for a wide-ranging discussion on how her personal and academic interest in esotericism developed and, more specifically, how her research into Aleister Crowley and Thelema from a gender studies point of view intersects with the study of South Asia.

In this special in-person fifth episode of Om-gnosis, we sit down with Finnian M. Moore Gerety, PhD (Oxford University), for an in-depth conversation about the syllable “Om,” including its history and associated ritual practices from the Vedic period to the present day.

In the sixth episode of Om-gnosis, Saymon Zakaria, PhD of Bangla Academy, Dhaka explores the religious and folk traditions of Bangladesh and their ties to Occult South Asia. He shares insights into his upbringing in a village rich in Nāth traditions and folk theater, the cultural significance of Kushtia's Fakiri, Baul, and Vaishnava practices, and the enduring role of body-centered rituals in rural communities. The discussion expands to his academic work on traditional theater and inter-religious performances, the formation of the Bangla Academy, and efforts to revive the Charyapada songs through the Bhabnagar Foundation. The episode also delves into the esoteric meanings of "Baul" and "Fakir," the interplay of Buddhist, Vaishnava, and Sufi traditions, and the mystical dimensions of figures like Lalon Sai. Other topics include the role of jinn, fairy-like beings, cremation ground rituals, and the goddess Nairamani’s presence in Bengali spiritual traditions.

In this seventh episode of Om-gnosis, we sit down with Prof. Julian Strube to discuss global esotericism, South Asia, the concept of occultism, and its intersections with political movements. 

In this eighth episode of Om-gnosis, we interview Vinayagam Swamigal, Managing Trustee of the Sri Sabapathy Lingeshwar Jiva Samadhi Temple in Tamil Nadu, about the legacy of Sabhapati Swami—his ties to Theosophy, Siddhar yoga traditions, and the temple’s living practices in art, music, and women's roles—culminating in a tour of the meditation hall and the tumulus (jīva samādhi) where Sabhapati is believed to be buried under a Shivalinga.

In this ninth episode of Om-gnosis, we interview Parvathy Baul, practitioner, performer, and teacher of the Baul tradition from Bengal, India. We discuss the importance of preserving intercultural and international exchange among spiritual seekers, the meaning of Baul (bāul) and its place in Bengali Indian, Bangladeshi, and global culture, how she met her guru Sanatan Das Baul, role of hidden or occult teachings in Baul songs, religious pluralism, the role of women in Baul practice, and the importance of sound and vibration in Baul music. The interview opens and closes with two songs offered by Parvathy Baul and her instruments specifically for this Om-gnosis interview.

This tenth episode of Om-gnosis presents two previously unpublished interviews with Ferdosi Fokirani, an artist from the environs of Kushtia, Bangladesh, who has practiced the Bengali Fakiri human religion (mānab-dharma) of Fakir Lalon Sai for over four decades. Ferdosi Fokirani, together with her late husband Shilpi Azim Fakir, reveals much about what birth-religion yoga, tantra, practice (sādhana), and music offer for scholars and practitioners alike. This episode also includes two contextual examples of Bengali Baul (bāul) and Fakiri songs.

Episode 11 of Om-gnosis features Radha Raghunathan, PhD—author, editor, and Honorable Director of the Adyar Library & Research Centre (ALRC) in Chennai. Recorded in the library’s reading room, the conversation explores her editorial work on foundational Vedānta texts, including Vedānta Muktāvalī, Jñānāṅkuśam, and an ongoing edition of Śrī Vedānta Deśika’s Paramata Bhaṅga. She also reflects on Maṇipravāla literature and the poet Subramaniya Bharathiyar. Dr. Raghunathan then traces the ALRC’s history from Henry Steel Olcott’s founding vision to its present focus on digitization, preservation, and training in Indic scripts. The interview closes with her insights on Bharathiyar’s use of the word “occult” for Tamil, the meaning of Advaita and Viśiṣṭādvaita, and the teacher’s role in spiritual study.

In this episode of Om-gnosis: The Occult South Asia Podcast, host Keith Edward Cantú summarizes his summer research trip through India and Bangladesh, exploring spiritual traditions, rare books on Sri Sabhapati Swami, and major cultural landmarks, including the National Museum of India and the Qutub Minar.

In Episode 13 of Om-gnosis: The Occult South Asia Podcast, host Keith Edward Cantú, PhD, Center for the Study of World Religions, interviews Fakir Bidhan Shah of Kumarkhali, Kushtia District, Bangladesh.

Fakir Bidhan Shah, joined by fellow sadhu-musicians and artists Fakir Nazrul Shah and Gautam Dada, discusses the importance of the Human Guru (mānuṣ guru) in the songs of Fakir Lalon Sai (d. 1890, often called Sai ji by devotees), one of the most famous folk poets of Bangladesh and West Bengal, India. The conversation highlights the significance of musical instruments such as ektara, duggi, dotara, and juri, which are often associated with Baul songs.

In Episode 14 of Om-gnosis, host Keith Edward Cantú speaks with Mariano Errichiello, PhD, Shapoorji Pallonji Lecturer in Zoroastrianism at SOAS University of London. Their conversation explores the social and esoteric dimensions of Zoroastrianism in South Asia, including the challenges of non-Zoroastrian fieldwork, Zoroastrian esotericism and Ilm-e-Khshnoom, the complexities of the term “occult” in South Asian studies, and how the Shapoorji Pallonji Institute is connecting scholarship with the public through artist-in-residence programs.

In Episode 15, Om-gnosis host Keith E. Cantú speaks with Dagmar Wujastyk, Associate Professor at the University of Alberta and a leading scholar of Sanskrit philology, Indian medicine, and alchemy (Rasa Śāstra). Wujastyk traces her path from philology to the study of classical Ayurveda, including fieldwork with Ashtavaidyans in Kerala who continue to draw on millennia-old texts. She reflects on Ayurvedic doctor–patient relationships, clarifies distinctions between rejuvenation therapies and alchemical pursuits of immortality, and offers insight into historical alchemical practice. The conversation also highlights her recent book, Indian Alchemy: Sources and Contexts, and her current research on iatrochemistry, pigments, and the science of cooking.

Join host Keith Edward Cantú for this episode of Om-gnosis: The Occult South Asia Podcast, featuring Marleen Thaler, a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Graz and the University of Vienna’s Research Centre “Religion and Transformation in Contemporary Society.” With a diverse background in religious studies, social and cultural anthropology, and Oriental studies, Thaler has served as a scholar-in-residence at the Esalen Institute and held fellowships in Zurich and Santa Barbara. In this interview, Thaler discusses her extensive research into the modern history of kuṇḍalinī, describing how her work with mentor Prof. Karl Baier led her to investigate the “serpent power” through the lens of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

With Karl Baier and Mriganka Mukhopadhyay. In this episode of Om-gnosis, host Keith Edward Cantú is joined by two pioneering scholars behind the concept of “Occult South Asia” to explore how global esotericism and South Asian religious traditions—yoga, tantra, Theosophy, mesmerism, spiritualism, and more—intersected during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Rather than viewing East and West as binary spheres of influence, the two guests offer a perspective on Occult South Asia as a dynamic field of transcultural exchange that reshaped both European and South Asian religious identities.

In this episode of Om-gnosis, Keith Edward Cantú reflects on the evolving role of AI in the humanities, arguing that it cannot replace core scholarly practices like philology, translation, ethnography, or interpretive analysis. Instead, AI functions best as a collaborative system that relies on human expertise and reliable sources. Drawing on the niche field of Occult South Asia and tools like the LipiSource platform, Cantú demonstrates how AI can support transliteration, translation, manuscript processing, and paleographic analysis across multiple languages. He emphasizes that accuracy comes from human curation and iterative refinement, framing AI not as a threat but as a catalyst for new forms of engagement and deeper understanding of complex intellectual and religious exchanges.

In this episode, host Keith Cantú welcomes Sravana Borkataky-Varma and Anya Foxen, who discuss their book The Serpent’s Tale: Kuṇḍalinī, Yoga, and the History of an Experience (2025). They explore kuṇḍalinī not as a single, fixed concept, but as a historically layered, culturally entangled, and experientially diverse phenomenon. The conversation follows kuṇḍalinī from premodern South Asian Tantric contexts into global yoga culture, showing how its meanings shift across traditions and eras. They challenge assumptions—such as the idea that kuṇḍalinī must always “rise” in a set way—and emphasize the variety of practitioners’ experiences. The episode also examines how terms like “occult” and “esoteric” shape, constrain, and even produce experiences, raising broader questions about how knowledge about altered states and embodiment is created and interpreted.

In this episode of Om-gnosis, Keith Edward Cantú speaks with Gordan Djurdjevic, an independent scholar of global esotericism, yoga, tantra, and comparative religion. Djurdjevic reflects on his early encounters with yogic texts and traces their influence on his scholarly work.

They explore connections between South Asian traditions and Western esotericism, including themes of secrecy, initiation, subtle bodies, and spiritual transformation, as well as siddhis and the meaning of magic(k).

Djurdjevic is the author of India and the Occult (Palgrave, 2014), co-editor of Occultism in a Global Perspective, and co-translator of Sayings of Gorakhnāth (Oxford, 2019). His forthcoming book examines Aleister Crowley’s Thelema in relation to Asian thought.